May is named after the Roman Goddess Maia, who oversees the growth of plants. May’s birthstone is the emerald, and the flower is Lily-of-the-valley. Some observances for May are: Adopt A Horse Month, Chip Your Pet Month, Gardening for Wildlife Month, Get Caught Reading Month, National Bike Month, National Photo Month, National Strawberry Month, and Tennis Month.

This month’s photo booth, located outside the Library’s front doors, features frogs and flowers for spring! We encourage patrons, families, friends, and small groups to stop by and take selfies with this popular little spot on Main Street for a bit of fun. The Library has been putting up monthly photo booths to promote walking downtown, visiting local businesses (including the Library), and adding a unique experience for visitors and locals in Appomattox.

The Jamerson Library’s Seed Library has been very popular this year! We have restocked the pollinator wildflower mix, and have added alyssum, black-eyed Susan, carrot, and turnip seeds to our selection. Patrons can come in and get 3 packs of seeds per household per week, to help promote gardening, beautification, local food security, a sense of community, and the promotion of pollinators. Be sure to checkout some gardening books while you are here. Gardening is for everyone!

The J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library is excited to inform parents/guardians that signed their kids up for free trees that they have arrived! You may pick up your tree(s) through Monday, May 4th, during normal business hours. If you cannot make it during this time please contact the Library so that we can hold your tree(s) for you, within reason. This year’s trees are white pine trees. Leftover trees will be given away to other patrons during our annual Spring Plant Swap.

On Monday, April 20th, the Sun Bonnet Sue Stitchers met up for the second time this month in our conference room for good conversation and busy hands. We encourage patrons who like to crochet, knit, quilt, embroider, or other such crafty works to join them in teaching and learning. Don’t forget the Library has several special checkout items, including how to make paper beads, a small sewing machine, and knitting and crochet kits.

On Wednesday, April 22nd, the Library hosted Deputy Thompson and K-9 officer Zelda for our weekly Story & Craft Time featuring the book “A Hero Lives in my Family”. First Responders are Heroes! Helping Heroes include: police officers, emergency medical service providers (e.g., paramedics, ER doctors and nurses), firefighters, and military personnel. They save, help, serve, and protect others! The kids enjoyed snacks while working on dog-themed crafts. Our next Story & Craft Time will be on Wednesday, April 29th, starting at 11:00 am and 12:00 pm.

Also on Wednesday, Library Staff attended the CVCC Student Appreciation Picnic on the CVCC Lynchburg Campus.  Director Cindy Scheu was in attendance to help pass out library information, craft projects, bubbles, drawstring backpacks, and small sewing kits for emergency repairs.

Thursday, April 23rd, was all about eating books! The Library hosted their second annual “Edible Book Contest”. Patrons and staff members presented creative food art inspired by books, titles, or characters. Entries are made mostly from cake, candy, fruit and vegetables, emphasizing library puns. The winning entry was “Children of the Cornbread”.

Library Fairy MaKayla hosted the Library’s After School Crafts on Thursday, April 23rd, with some “sketchy” business. She showed students the basics of sketching 101, the Library providing all the supplies needed to encourage creative flow from inspiration to paper.

On Saturday, April 25th, the Library was a guest vendor at the James River State Park’s Earth Fest. Staff members set up a tent to give away library information, summer reading promotions, dinosaur coloring pages and other assorted crafts. Staff even participated in helping plant wildflower seeds as a part of the activities going on at James River State Park.

There are only a few days left to enter your name in our free raffle! In celebration of Spring and the return of migrating birds, the Library is hosting a “Cleared for Takeoff: Free Bird Watching Raffle”, that consists of a Flight Path tote bag, bird safe coffee, water bottle, sticker, pen & notebook set, beaded parrot keychain, planter, and other assorted items. It is one entry per person, per visit. We will announce the winner on Thursday, April 30th. This raffle is paid for in part by the Flight Path Grant.

The Library will be closed to the public on Friday, May 1st, for a professional development day. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our patrons. We will reopen on Saturday, May 2nd, at 9:30 am. The book drop, located at the back of the building, will remain open.

The Library will be hosting our annual Spring Plant Swap on Thursday, May 7th, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm in the community room. Bring in your extra or unwanted houseplants, seeds, bareroots, and cuttings to the Library and exchange them for new friends to take home. You must bring plants in order to take plants in a fair or generous exchange of greenery. A Library employee has attempted to sprout black-eyed Susan, English lavender, lemon balm, poppies, and purple cone flowers. We hope to have them available as part of the plant swap.

Spring is in full swing, but the Library is already planning ahead to summer! Staff have been working hard for the upcoming 2026 Summer Reading Program “Unearth a Story”. We will be featuring dinosaurs, archaeology, paleontology, adventurers, scientists, fossils, rocks, gardening and more! This program is open to patrons 2 years of age and up! We have a lot of programs and adventures for the whole family including the annual Fun & Craft Day in Abbitt Park, Digging Up Wonder Magic Show, a June  and July Family Story & Craft Time, craft events, movie times and more!

In observation of the Memorial Day Holiday, the Jamerson Library will be closed on Monday, May 25th. We will reopen to the public on Tuesday, May 26, starting at 9:30 am. The book depository, located at the back of the building, will remain open, during this time.

If you have any questions or concerns about this article or other library-related topics, please feel free to call us during normal business hours.

The Library receives a steady supply of new and donated items and would like to highlight the following items:

DVDs